The Tower of Pain (Gloin Jank) *CotR Deckbox* 1.0

• Versions
• 1.0

The Gloin Tower of Pain deck got me through some hard times back in the Mirkwood cycle. Back when enemy attack values were low and resource generation was lower, making Gloin into a conduit for punishment was one of the burstiest, most ridiculous resource accelerators around. Sadly, as enemy attack values increased, that engine became harder and harder to get rolling, and (for me, at least) the deck fell into legend.

Then, when asked on the spot what deck I'd like to see more support for, much like the Ring, this deck decided it wanted to be found once more. It turns out though, after looking at the state of the card pool, we've been getting useful pieces to update this deck for a very long time.

To back up and confirm the basics, the deck makes use of Gloin's ability to rack up tons of cash, then use that cash to turn out big allies.

Early game, ideally you want to see a Song of Battle and Ent Draught, to help get the engine rolling. Then, you slap on Citadel Plates, Self Preservations, etc. until Gloin is making you money hand over fist.

This deck has some really fun interactions:

Song of Mocking & Treebeard- With Song of Mocking on Gloin, you can use it to, at will, generate resources. How? Treebeard's ability allows you to damage him as an action, which you then can redirect to Gloin. Cash money, when you need it. Caveat:if you do this Treebeard does not receive the stat bonus. But you get your monies, and that's what matters.

Lembas & Treebeard: Almost always, the lembas in this deck go on Treebeard. It allows him to quest or defend, damage him for extra oomph, and then ready up for an attack later, which can now be a bigger attack, since he's also healed.

Dark Knowledge: Since Gloin is often taking undefended damage, it can sometimes be advantageous to check out a shadow card before you commit. Taking Gloin down to 1 willpower isn't often a big deal, or conversely you can pop it on Treebeard, who can always pump back up in a moment of need.

Galadriel: Ally Galadriel is a monster in this deck. Gloin can almost always pay for her, and she can dive down and grab a free Self Preservation, that song you're lacking, Lembas, you get the idea. Then she orders your deck up so you know what you're drawing.

Sideboard & other options:

Narvi's Belt- I use Song of Battle in place of Narvi's Belt in this case for pacing purposes. Being able to pay anyone's single resource to get it on the board can often save you a turn at least before you're rolling, and in a deck that is super reliant on a combo, pace matters. It works just fine though.

High Cost Lore Allies: I kept the lore cost curve in this deck decidedly low so that including only the song of battle is not a hindrance. However, if you go with Narvi's Belt, you can pay for anything.

Lay of Nimrodel: If you're playing the Narvi's Belt variant, a late game 20+ willpower Gloin can be a thing.